News from around the nation.

Trump warns Iran they “better get smart soon.” PA senator backs bills to lower healthcare costs and expand access; Ohio family reflects on foster care success story; Analysis shows Connecticut could see economic benefits from child tax credit. South Dakota rancher invests in native plants to restore land.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump reported to be considering military options for the Strait of Hormuz with peace talks with Iran at an impasse.

In a 4 a.m. Wednesday social media post, Trump issued a stern warning to Iran.

In the post, Trump said, Iran can't get their act together.

They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal.

They better get smart soon.

CNBC notes the post was accompanied by an AI-generated picture of Trump holding a gun with explosions in the background and the words, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Meantime, a Pennsylvania lawmaker has introduced a new slate of legislation to address rising health care costs.

With soaring medical debt and high premiums, almost half of U.S. adults struggle to afford basic health care.

Adding to the issue, some 120,000 Pennsylvanians canceled their federal insurance plan after Republicans refused to extend ACA subsidies.

Senator Marie Collette says her package of bills addresses the root causes of Pennsylvanians' financial challenges, offering both direct economic relief and broader systematic support.

One of the measures is now before the Banking and Insurance Committee.

A bill that would require maintaining access to preventive health care, so it would require health insurance policies to cover preventive health care services, and that would give people an opportunity, as we know, to work on long-term health outcomes, fight against chronic disease.

Collette says Pennsylvanians can't afford disruptions to preventative health care, including vaccinations, blood tests, and cancer screenings.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and foster families across Ohio are sharing stories of how they were brought together.

Our Nadia Ramlagan has more.

Brothers Caleb and Dylan were separated for five years while in the state's foster care system.

Believing they might never be together again, they were reunited against the odds by a loving couple living in Ohio.

Their mom, Kara Webster, says she and her husband had previous experience fostering and have spent time learning to support kids with serious trauma or challenges.

The more we did it, the more it was like a calling for me.

It was like a passion for me.

It's become really I've made it my whole career at this point.

Webster and her husband went on to adopt the two boys.

It was facilitated by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption through their Wendy's Wonderful Kids program.

Next, a new report finds Connecticut could heavily benefit from a state child tax credit.

The Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy report finds the state would see $1.5 billion in short and long-term benefits.

Amy Cassavina-Hall with the United Way of Connecticut says the child tax credit can also impact where the state allocates funding.

It reduces spending on things like criminal justice involvement, criminal justice system, victims of crime.

Those things get reduced and we see better outcomes in health and education and earnings and long-term stability.

The report finds every dollar spent on the child tax credit generates $5 in social and economic gains.

This is Public News Service.

The latest 2026 State of the Air report from the American Lung Association shows soot and smog levels in states like Indiana do not paint a healthy picture.

Tiffany Nichols, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association, says as the weather gets warmer, it is important to know the air quality before spending time outdoors.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management puts out what's called no zone action days on days when the air is bad.

We encourage you to wear an N95 mask and also limit the time outdoors, especially if you don't want to wear a mask for yourself or your children.

Indiana's major interstates, I-465 and I-70, are heavily used by motorists and diesel truck drivers and can produce high rates of emissions.

The smog is ground-level ozone pollution, and soot is particulate matter.

Both can cause a host of health problems, including premature death and births, respiratory illnesses, strokes, and mental decline.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Meantime, food prices in the U.S. are forecast to rise by nearly 3 percent by the end of the year.

A North Dakota professor specializing in nutrition says, despite elevated grocery bills, there's still too much food waste.

Julia Garden Robinson with North Dakota State University Extension says it's a good reminder to maximize the value of your grocery haul.

She says at home, people sometimes throw out food before they need to, noting lingering confusion about use-by dates.

That milk that might be in your refrigerator that has a Best Buy today or Sell Buy today, that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't drink that milk for a few days.

Garden Robinson says safety is important, but consumers should use common sense to determine if a product has a little extra shelf life.

She recommends better meal planning and going through your cupboards before restocking.

I'm Mike Moen.

Finally, April is Native Plants Month, as South Dakota rancher is reflecting on her journey to turn part of her ranch back to native grassland.

Dawn Butzer and her husband bought 100 acres in Alcester, South Dakota in 2019, knowing they wanted to convert it to pasture for better soil and grazing.

After leasing it for five years, Butzer says she started researching native prairie plants.

On Good Friday last year, she planted a mix of cool and warm season grasses along with native flowers.

The plants took off after soaking rains.

Agency people would stop in consistently to see the progress, and they'd say, there's prairie flowers in here that take years to get established, sometimes up to seven years.

And here you go, you've got them the first year.

Butzer also credits the team that taught her the process.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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